32 FORD LOST IN FIRE, HOUSE SAVED

An Oregon City couple lost a classic car, but their log cabin home was spared during a fire Friday.

Officials with Clackamas Fire District No. 1 said the owner of the log cabin-style home at 14938 Burkstrom Road was working on a 1932 Ford coupe with a friend in the shop behind his house.

The two were trying to fix a gas leak when a fire broke out shortly after noon on Aug. 6. The man tried to beat back the flames with a nearby fire extinguisher while his friend called 9-1-1, but investigators said the car was engulfed in flames in “seconds.”

The two were able to get two more vintage cars out of the shop area while firefighters responded.

The shop was behind the house, and flames were already shooting 20 to 30 feet in the air. The responding crew was put in the tenuous situation of working to save the house with the shop fire burning behind their backs.

“"This was one of the best saves of a house that I can remember,” said Battalion Chief Jamie Karn. "These firefighters here today never gave up and that's what saved this home."

The couple who lives in the 33-year-old home has been there 33 years, and just celebrated their 24th anniversary the day before the fire. Initial damage estimates are in the $250,000 range.